Wire wheel truing machine and method



Nov. 6, 1934- w. H. FA-RR El AL 1,979,956

WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 5, 1930 6 SheetsSheet l v 94 H v Q (Q. I I I FTC-Li 62 I I 65 1 84 I E i 56 0 B 41 {A 7 7 I 1 416 3% I M 41942 I.

INVENTORS 250 WARREN HJ ARR' CAROLUSL.EKSERC1IAN BY 013:0 E. SMITH FIGJB W F ATTORNEY.

Nov. 6, 1934. w. H FARR HA 1,979,966

WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 5, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 L: /].\VENTOR5 ll WARREN H. FARR.

86 I" i CAROLUS LEKSERGIAN v P 9 BY OBED 13.5mm I A!" M PM H" J J ATTORNEY.

Nov. 6, 1934. w. H. FARR Er AL 1, 6

WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Sept 5, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 65 6 4. I FIGS 24 50 l- 52 A; 1 :3 i@ 55 5i 3' i g? f J! 12 \ii\ 10 \447 I z 25 i9 91 89 i8 i 21 83 M MQ V I N V EN TORS WARREN H. FARR CAROLUS LEks 22mm BY OBED IE..SM1TH ATTORNEY.

Nov. 6, 1934. w. H, FARR El AL 1,979,966v

WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 5, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 206 FIG.6 04 FIG? "g 222.

CAROLDS LEKSERGIAN OZ BY OBEDE-SMI'TH.

A TTORNE Y.

NOV. 6, 1934. v w FARR ET AL 1,979,966

WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS WARREN HFARR CAROLUS LEKSERGIAN- 0920 E SMITH- g e F M 1 ATTORNEY.

Nov. 6, 1934. w. H. FARR in AL 1,979,966

I WIRE WHEEL TRUING MACHINE AND METHOD 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 5, 1950 co N m INVENTORS WARREN H .FARR

By OBI-:0 m'ra.

' A TTORNEY.

3 10 FIG. 12

CARoLus LEKSERGIAN hurrah grates earner oreica WERE WHEEL TRUKNG MACHINE AND METHGD Warren H. Farr, Carolus L. Eksergiamand Obed E. Smith, Detroit, Mich, assignors to Budd Wheel Company, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 5, 1930, Serial No. 479,842 29 Claims. (01. 29-8'7) Our invention relates to the manufacture o1 anism for effecting a relative rotation between wire wheels and is especially concerned with the the jigged wheel and the mechanisms described fastening and truing of wire wheels provided above for operating upon the various spoke with threaded spokes adapted to coact with nipcations whereby to bring the spokes successively ples or other complementally threaded portions into coacting relationship with respect to the or elements associated with the wheel. operating mechanisms. This indexing mech-V The principal object of our invention has been anism is operated by yieldingly applied pressure to eficct economies in the manufacture of wire and is adjustable to a very fine degree. wheels and tothat end we have sought to econ- Our invention further contemplates the simulomize time and labor in the assembling and taneous truing and tightening of' one'or more an accurately predetermined degree, thereby or adju e degree of the pyp fastening or securing of wire wheel parts, while spokes of each of the several angularly arat the same time, saving floor space. ranged spoke series whereby a single rotation It has been a further object of our invention of the wheel is sufiicient for the entire truing to effect a tension of each of the spokes to operation. We have also devised a mechanism equalizing the tension of all of the spokes and rotation of the wheel whereby t0 enable us o 0 truing the wheel with great accuracy. We have p ra e upon Wh els having varyin numbers further sought to facilitate the manufacture of of spokes in each series.

wire wheels by improving the methods and We have also arranged 0111' j n Such a gg rnechanism heretofore employed in this connecm e as to render them freely o able and tion by speeding up the operation, while at the replaceable in the machine, and are thus ensame time, rendering it more reliable and acabled to Op ra p y different yp of curate. wheels in a single machine by means of simple In connection with all of the aforementioned adjustments and replacements. 25 advantages, we have sought to produce a ma- Further objects and advantages of our invenchine capable of operating on various sizes and tion will be obvious from a reading of the subconstructions of wheels with a minimum of loss joined specification in the light of the attached of time incident to adjustment of the machinen drawings, in which We have attained these objects by providing Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of our maa machine which is operable by means or" comchine, parts being shown in elevation for the pressed air to perform the spoke fasten ng opsake of clearness. erations thereby equalizing the tightening force Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the on each of the spoke locations whereby to efiect clamping mechanism with the clamping head an equal tension in the adjustment of the spokes. in inoperative position. A further important factor in the attainment Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the of the aforementioned objects has been the parts in clamped position. improved jiggin mechanism whereby we clamp Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 the parts in position for. the aforementioned or Fig.3. I power operation of fastening the p s. We Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the lower portion 40 have devised a ampin mechanism which p of our machine with the clamping head omitted. vides a simple and adequate releasing operation Fig, 6 i r s ti on th li 5 of after the spokes have been tightened and yet Fig 5 retains the wheel parts in positive concentric Fig. 7 is a detail elevational view of a poralignm n n p p axial n n l r relation tion of the mechanism for indexing the table during e tensieni'ng of our machine, this view being taken in a di- Gur improved machine also avoids the danger m-i it t th t f Fi 6, of destroyi g the contelltlieity 0f he hub d Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of our improved rim or deformi g these parts, by teneiening the pawl and ratchet indexing mechanism, part of spok i symmetrically distributed gr ups 1- the mechanism being shown in section for the 50 multaneouslyr W e thereby avoid the deleterious s k of clearness, effect upon the wheel of the distorting tendency Fig. 9 is a plan view of the rim supporting of tensicning a single spoke at a time by efiecttable and operating tools of our improved maing simultaneous equal and opposite stresses chine, the clamping head being omitted in order upon opposite sides of the hub shell and rim. to illustrate the construction. 55' We have also devised a s ep-by-step mech- Fig. lOis a plan view of the indexing and opno described is disclosed solely for the purpose of -'machine for operation thereon.

erating mechanism, together with the pneumatic connections for driving the operating mechanism, the table and clamping head being omitted to illustrate this portion of the machine.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of one of our operating tools and the means for securing the same in the machine.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of one of our operating tools, parts being shown in section to illustrate the construction of the same.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of one of the valves for controlling the flow of air to the fluid pressure motors for tightening the several spokes.

General characteristics of the machine position adjacent a wheel which rests upon a rotary table by means of an upper air cylinder and clamped thereto by the action of a lower cylinder. The tools for operating upon the respective spoke locations are controlled by combined reciprocatory and rotary fluid motors and the mechanism for indexing the wheel is controlled by another fluid motor which is in turn controlled by the reciprocation of the tools to index the wheel when the fastening mechanisms are in their retracted positions.

The Wheel 10 illustrated in the drawings comprises a hub 11 and a rim 12 interconnected by means of spokes 13 which in the present case are provided with nipples on their outer ends having end portions specially formed for coaction with a suitable ratchet headed screw driver or other tool. The hub 11 has a flange 14 secured thereto adjacent its inner end and this flange is provided with a plurality of coined bolt holes adapted to receive conical or spherical securing nuts. The hub flange is further provided with an annular rib 16 adapted to impinge against the fixed hub flange of the vehicle. The rim illustrated is provided with a gutter 1'7 but it will be understood that our machine is also adapted for use in connection with other types of rims. We wish it to be understood that many features of this wheel may be varied without affecting the capacity of our Our machine might readily be modified within the spirit of our invention to operate upon even further varied forms of wheels. It should be apparent therefore that the particular wheel shown and illustration. We will first describe the principal components of our machine and their principles of. operation and thereafter explain the control mechanism and the manner in which these components are correlated and commonly driv- Main frame of machine The frame of our machine constitutes a verwith a flaring base 251 merging into an annular vertically extending flange upon which the machine rests. The top portion 252 of the casting is adapted to support a flange 256 formed on the base of a second circular casting 22 which is adapted to rotatably receive the table which supports the rim. A hollow column 253 is secured to the base of the flange 251 by means of a bracket 254. The bracket 254, together with a plurality of brackets 258 adapted to support the operating tools is supported upon an annular shoulder 255 on the main body of the casting 250.

The brackets 258 extend upwardly and are provided with flanges 265 on their upper ends adapted to receive supporting plates 259 which are adjustably secured thereto by means of bolts 260 which pass through openings in the flanges and elongated slots 261 in the supporting plates. The supporting plates 259 are each provided with a pair of flanges 262 extending upwardly from their longitudinal ends. These flanges are provided with openings adapted to receive a pair of rods 263 which are secured thereto by means of nuts 264. A second bracket 63 is secured to the column 253 adjacent the upper end thereof, this bracket being adapted to support the operating mechanism for raising the rim and hub clamping mechanisms away from the operating table. The brackets 63 and 254 are both secured to the column 253 by means of split bearings 257.

J igging mechanism This portion of our machine is best illustrated in Figures l-5 of the drawings. It comprises essentially a rotary annular table 18 for fixedly supporting the rim and provided with means for floatingly supporting the hub. An annular shoulder 19 on the table serves to position the rim initially in concentric relation thereto when placed thereon. Any desired means can be provided for suitably angularly relating the rim and table, such, for example, as the pin 91 secured to the table and passing through a suitable opening in the rim. An annular rack 21 is secured to the base of the table within an annular rabbeted portion 20 thereof by suitable bolts and is adapted to be intermittently rotated by means to be later described.

The table is rotatably mounted upon a portion of the main frame 22 of the machine by means of thrust bearings 23. The table is provided in the inner portion of its upper surface with a depressed portion 24 adapted to slidably receive internal wedges of T shaped formation 25 which are symmetrically arranged about the periphery of the table. The wedges 25 are adapted to clamp the wheel rim internally and each of these wedges is provided with a shoulder 35 adapted to abut an annular shoulder on the table to limit the outward movement of the wedges. The T shaped wedges 25 are provided with recesses 26 adapted to receive pins 2'7 secured in position in the top of the table and springs 28 each of Z.-'

strengthening rib 57 running longitudinally are provided with suitable grooves 34 which receive the T shaped clamping wedges 25 between them. When the clamping wedges are forced into their outer positions, they abut the inner portion of the rim to clamp it concentrically in position upon the table. The means for moving the clamps into clamping position against the pressure of the springs 26 will be described hereinafter.

A hollow support 35 is provided for the hub shell and this support is floatingly mounted with respect to the table 18. The main body of the support 35' telescopes within the flange 31 of the table and the support is provided at its lower end with an outwardly extending circular flange 36 adapted to be guided between an inwardly facing annular shoulder on the inner surface of the flange 31 and an annular plate 3'? which is bolted to the base of the flange 31 by means of a series of bolts 38.

A compression spring 39 abuts the base of the plate 37 at its lower end and an inwardly extending flange 40 on the upper end of the hub support at its upper end. An annular wear Iresisting collar 41 is seated upon a portion of this flange and receives the hub shell, which rests thereon upon its rib 16. The collar 41 and hub shell support 35 are provided with a series of aligned openings 42 adapted to receive pins 47 for centering and clamping the hub parts in proper position concentrically with respect to the rim. The flange 40 merges into a cylindrically upwardly extending portion 43 which is provided with a reduced upper extremity adapted to receive the bushing 44 which telescopes and is slidably received within a bushing 45 on the inner surface of a clamping head 46. The upwardly extending portion 4 also serves to accurately position the collar 41.

iHub locking and clamping pins 4'7 are screw threaded into the base of the clamping head. Each of these locking and clamping pins is provided with a ball faced head 48 which is adapted to center and clamp the hub shell in proper position by entering the bolt receiving openings thereof and is further provided with a reduced extension 49 adapted to be received within the aligned openings 42 mentioned above. Hub locating pins are slidably arranged within the openings in the hub support and collar and are urged upwardly by means of springs 89. These springs yield when the clamping pins abut the upper ends of the pins 90. They thus center the wheel initially but do not interfere with the final centering thereof by means of pins 47.

A plurality of clamping arms 50 adapted to co-act with the gutter of the rim are annularly arranged about the clamping head and are pivoted thereto by means of pins 51 secured to ears 52 which are in turn detachably secured within the clamping head 46 by means of pins 61. The clamping arms are provided above their point of pivotal attachment to the ears with large abutments 53 which afford substantial vertical faces contiguous to the cylindrical main body of the clamping head 54. The inner edges of the arms 50 are cut away as illustrated at 55 to allow the arms to swing inwardly through a small arc during the upward movement of the clamping head. The purpose of this swinging movement will be later described.

Each of the arms 50 is provided with a thereof and these arms are further provided with arcuate clamping portions 58 at their lower ends having horizontally extending faces 59 and vertically extending faces 60 adapted to abut against the edge and bottom portions of the rim and gutter respectively. When the clamping head is raised out of contact with the rim, the weight of the arms 50 naturally tends to cause these arms to rotate in a downward direction until the lower edge of the cut away portion 55 abuts against the main body of the clamping head as illustrated in Fig. 2. The rotation of the arm in this movement is not sufficient, however, to bring its outer end inwardly beyond the plane of the inner portion of the gutter of the rim. Accordingly, when the clamping head is again lowered into contact with the same or another rim, the horizontal face 59 of the arcuate portion of the clamping arm will abut against the side of the gutter of the rim and rotate the arms 50 in an upward direction until the portion 92 of the main body of the abutment 53 abuts against the cylindrical main body 54 of the clamping head. Before this abutment occurs the faces 60 of the clamping arms abut against the inner portion of the gutter and tend to press the same outwardly, thereby placing this portion of the rim under an even stress throughout its circumference and concentrically positioning it with 1053 respect to the table and the hub of the wheel. The ears 52 in which the clamping arms 50 are pivoted are removably secured in place by means of pins 61. When it is found desirable to substitute clamping arms having other configurations than those disclosed for co-action with different types or sizes of rims, it is accordingly necessary only to remove the pins 61 and replace the ears and clamping arms by means of others adapted to the new type of rim.

The mechanism for effecting a long vertical movement of the clamping head preparatory to its clamping action will next be described.

The prime mover for this last named mechanism constitutes a cylinder 62 which receives a suitable piston which is reciprocated in the cylinder by means of fluid pressure, the fluid which is used in the present case being compressed air.

A piston rod 64 is connected to the lower end of the piston and slides within a cylindrical chamber 65 which is provided with a head 66 having a cylindrical flanged portion 67 which flts slidingly over the piston rod. The lower end of the chamber 65 is detachably secured to the flange 56 of the clamping head 46. The flange 67 is cut away at circumferentially spaced points as indicated at 68 to receive pivot pins '70 to which downwardly-extending arms 69 are secured. These arms consist of spaced parallel portions 71 and '72 connected by an outwardly diagonally extending portion 73. The collar 74 is adjustably secured in fixed vertical position with respect to the piston rod 64 by means of a pair of nuts '75 and 76 which abut opposite faces of the collar and a bushing 93 surrounding the piston rod and are threaded upon the piston rod. This collar '74 is provided with a plurality of symmetrically arranged spaced openings in its body which slidably receive the arms 69. Upon the occurrence of relative movement between the collar '74 and flange 67, the arms 69 slide with respect to the openings 77 and this IOU relative movement thereby eifects a sliding 15g? movement of a plurality of sectors 78 which are pivoted to enlarged portions 79 on the lower ends of the arms 69 and slidably mounted on the upper face of the clamping head 46. It will *8 be seen that when the collar 74 rides upwardly over the portions 73 of the arms 69, these arms are forced outwardly and thus carry the sectors 79 outwardly for a purpose to be later explained. When the sectors 79 are in their collapsed posi- IU, tion, they surround a reduced neck 84 of piston rod 80 projecting from a lower cylinder 81 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

The mechanism for effecting the final clamping action comprises a lower cylinder 81 in which I; a piston is reciprocated by means of compressed air in the same manner as that above described with respect to the piston 62. A piston rod 80 is connected to the upper end of the piston and this piston rod constitutes also a pilot pin to 2m guide the clamping head 46 in its reciprocating movement. This piston rod is provided with a reduced neck as indicated at 82 and this reduced neck merges into a bevelled face 83 which connects it with the main upper portion of the zly piston rod. This bevelled face 83 acts as a cam to effect a reciprocation of a plurality of pins 88, one of which abuts the inner face of each of the T-shaped wedges 225. These pins thus effect an outward motion of the wedges to guqclamp the rim internally upon reciprocation of piston rod 80 by causing the pins to ride outwardly upon the bevelled portion 83 of the piston rod. The piston rod is provided with a second reduced neck at 84 and an enlarged head ;;on its extreme upper end as indicated at 85. A Y threaded collar 86 on the upper end of the cylinder is adapted to be secured to a complementally threaded collar 87 on the lower face of the annular plate 37. 4o- In the operation of this portion of the ma- 'chine, air is first released from the lower cylinder and applied to the lower end of the upper cylinder to cause the clamping head 46 to be raised a considerable distance above the rotary 5 table 18, as illustrated in Figure 2. This aifords free access to the table. With the parts in this position a wheel consisting of a rim and hub interconnected by loosely arranged spokes is placed upon the table in the position shown in the drawings. The pins 90 and 91 effect a proper preliminary positioning of the hub and rim relatively to the table and operating means and consequently relatively to each other. In this position the collar 74 will also abut against the under surface of the flange 67 of the chamber 65 and retain the same in raised position. The portions 71 of the arms 69 will thus be received within the openings 77 of the collar 74 and retain the arms 69 and attached sectors 78 in expanded condition.

Air is now released from the cylinder 62 to allow the piston 64 and the attached collar 74 to move downwardly, the downward movement being controlled by the valve' 94. The chamber 65 and the attached clamping head will, of course, fall by gravity as the collar 74 is lowered. Pins 47 will be received within the bolt receiving openings 15 of the hub shell and will,

overcome the tension of the spring 39 and effect a lowering of the hub shell support.

Further movement of the piston rod 64 after the clamping head has come to rest, as above described, accordingly effects a movement of the collar 74 downwardly over the portions 73 of the arms 69 and thereby effects a pivotal movement of the arms about the pins 70 to. collapse the sectors 78 about the neck 84 of the lower piston rod 80. This movement may be assisted by the admission of air to the upper side of the cylinder 62 through the control of a suitable valve in the conduit, if desired. At this point, the sectors 78 are collapsed, the arms 50 are resting lightly against the gutter of the rim and the T-shaped'wedges 25 are held in their retracted positions by means of springs 28.

Pressure is now applied to the lower cylinder 81 to force the piston thereof and its attached piston rod downwardly. In this downward 95 movement the head 85 of the piston rod abuts against the inner edges of the collapsed sectors 78 and thus forces these sectors, together with the clamping head 46, still further downwardly. The pressure in the cylinder 81 is considerably greater than the upward pressure afforded by the compression of the spring 39, and thus effects a downward movement of the hub support 35' against the pressure of the spring. In this movement the ball faces 48 of the pins 47 tend to center, the hub with respect to the rim and the abutment of the faces 59 and 60 of the clamping arms 50 tends to center the rim, and the hub and rim are thus firmly clamped'and centrally positioned with respect to their supports.

The vertical position of the hub shell is also definitely fixed by reason of the abutment of the base of the support 35 against the top surface of the annular plate 37. The final position of the table is thus accurately determined by this last-mentioned abutment and the position of the hub shell relatively to the table is determined by the telescoping of the spherical faces of the pins 47 within the bolt holes.

The downward movement of the piston rod 80 also effects an outward movement of the T- shaped sectors 25 into clamping engagement with the inner surface of the rim by reason of the fact that the inner ends of the pins 88 ride upon the bevelled face 83 of the piston rod and are thereby forced outwardly against the compressive force of the springs 28. We thus obtain a secure clamping and centering of both the hub and the rim in concentric position with respect to the table 18 and to each other.

After the completion of the operation upon the wheel, pressure is first released from the cylinder 81 to raise the piston rod 80. This effects a release of the hub support 35 which is then forced upwardly by means of the spring 39. 1:35 The bevelled face 83 rides upwardly with respect to pins 88 in this movement and allows the springs28 to retract the T-shaped wedges 25 from clamping engagement with the inner surface of the rim. Pressure is next admitted to the lower end of the cylinder 62 to raise the clamping head away from its position adjacent the wheel and table. The first eifect of the movement of the piston rod 64 upwardly is simply to cause the collar 74 to ride upwardly upon the arms 69 over the diagonal portions 78 of the same and thereby swing the sectors 78 outwardly into a position where they no longer extend beneath the head 85 of the piston rod 80. As the collar 74 is moved still fur- 150' end of the piston rod 302.

ther upwardly, it abuts against the lower face of the end 66 of the cylindrical chamber and raises the same. As the sectors '78 have been expanded beyond their previous position beneath the outer edge of the head 85 before the piston rod effects any elevation of the chamber 65, the head 85 will afford no opposition to the elevation of the chamber and the attached clamping head.

It will thus be seen that the parts may readily be raised into a position where they will not interfere with the removal of the completed wheel from the table. In this connection especial attention should be directed to the action of the arms 50 as the clamping head is raised. As explained above, these arms are allowed a slight pivotal movement by means of the surfaces 5455 of the clamping head. When the clamping head is raised, the arms therefore tend to collapse of their own weight until the lower edge of the cut-away portion 55 of the abutment 53 abuts against the main body 54 of the clamping head. This renders the removal of the clamping arms 50 from the rim a very simple matter. If the arms 50 were rigidly secured to the head, great difliculty would ensue at this point, as the fastening of the spokes has tended to contract the rim and bind it upon these arms. The collapse of the arms in the manner described above thus affords a very simple and practical solution of the difficulties encountered because of this binding tendency.

Spoke fastening mechanism This part of our machine comprises a plurality of motors having operating tools arranged about the periphery of the wheel supporting table. These mechanisms are organized and arranged to operate upon the respective spoke locations between successive indexing movements of the wheel. In the embodiment illustrated, each of the operating mechanisms comprises a combination reciprocating and rotating fluid motor for tightening the respective nipples. A common source of fluid pressure is arranged to effect both the reciprocation and rotation of these motors. The construction and operation of the motors will be best understood by reference to Figures 11 and 12 of the drawings. Each of these motors is arranged upon one of the supporting plates 259 described in connection with the general frame work of the machine. The brackets 258 which support these plates are of various configurations and thus support the operating tools at various angles with respect to the plane of the wheel in order to operate upon the various angularly arranged sets of spokes.

The motors are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the wheel and are arranged to operate simultaneously upon oppositely located spokes in order to effect an equal stress in opposite directions upon the hub, rim and spoke members during the securing operation. This feature is very important in connection with the even tensioning of the wheel and is also important because it obviates the distortion of the hub and rim members which has been a common defect of previous spoke tensioning arrangements. These operating mechanisms are indicated generally at 300 and comprise a piston 301 secured to the flange 262 of the plate 259 by means of a nut 303 secured tothe threaded This nut clamps the piston rod tightly to the flange 262 through a shoulder 304 formed upon the piston rod.

The piston 301 is received within a cylinder 305 which is adapted to slide thereon. This cylinder is provided with a head 306 which is screw-threaded thereon adjacent the rear flange 262. A coil spring 307 is received between the head 306 and the outer end of the piston 301. The cylinder is provided with a reduced neck adjacent its forward end which is threaded as indicated at 314 and secured by its threaded connection to a complemental internally threaded neck on the rear end of a rotary fluid motor 313. The main body of the cylinder is provided with a laterally extending port 308 which is threaded on its outerend to receive the end of a pipe 309 by which air is admitted to the cylinder. The port 308 communicates with two ports 311 and 312 extending longitudinally of the cylinder and leading into the cylinder chamber proper and the rotary air motor, respectively. The pipe 309 receives the operating fluid, which in the present case, comprises compressed air through a flexible conduit 310. The operating tool 315 is preferably in the form of a ratchet headed screw driver and is mounted on a forward end of the rotary motor 313 and is adapted to fasten the spoke in place when actuated. The main body 316 of the rotary motor 313 is slidably secured upon rods 263 by means of a bracket 317 which clamps the motor and slides upon the rods. Similar brackets 319 and 320 secure the reduced rear neck of the rotary motor and the main body of the cylinder 305 slidably upon these rods. This slidable arrangement is best illustrated at 321 in Figure 11 of the drawings. The clamp 31'? on one of the reciprocating motors is provided on one of its side faces with a pin 416 which is adapted to operate a trip which controls the fluid pressure motor for actuating the indexing mechanism, as will be later described.

In the operation of this portion of our machine, when air is admitted to the cylinder 305 through the conduits 309310 and ports 308 311, the cylinder will be moved forwardly on the piston carrying the rotary air motor 313 forwardly with it. The portion of the air admitted through the port 308 will pass through the port 312 into the rotary motor and thus effect a rotation thereof. The same source of fluid pressure which eifects reciprocation of the rotary motor bodily along its axis, thus effects a simultaneous rotation thereof. As soon as the operating tool engages the spoke nipples it thus effects a rotation of the same to tension the spoke in the well known manner. It should be remembered at this point, that at the same time, another operating tool is tensioning an oppositely arranged spoke simultaneously with the tensioning operation under consideration. As soon as the tension in the spoke has reached a degree corresponding to that of the fluid pressure in the system, the rotary motor 313 will stall, thereby preventing any further rotation. As the oppositely arranged tools are controlled from the same source of fluid pressure, the tension of these spokes will be equal and the stresses produced in the wheel will be opposite thereby avoiding distortion of the wheel.

Indexing mechanism This mechanism comprises essentially a rack and pinion arrangement for indexing a wheel between the positions in which successive spokes are aligned with the operating tools between successive fastening operations. Its important advantages reside in an arrangement whereby the an arrangement for table may be preliminarily indexed by hand or by suitable mechanism to any desired extent before the initiation of the fastening operation in order to align the first spoke or set of spokes to be operated upon with the operating tools, and readily adjusting the amount of indexing movement to facilitate operation on various types of wheels having various arrangements of spokes. This indexing mechanism is controlled through the reciprocation of the operating tools described above, as will be later explained in connection with the description of the controlling mechanism of the entire machine. The rack 21 which is secured to the face of the table 18 is adapted to be intermittently rotated by means of a pinion 200. We have devised means for controlling the rotation of this pinion to a very refined degree. This mechanism is driven by an air cylinder 201 which is secured to the frame of the machine by a suitable bracket 205 illustrated in Figure 5. The admission of air effects the reciprocation of a piston therein together with the piston rod 202 connected thereto.

This piston rod is connected with a cross head 203 which is adapted to reciprocate along vertical rods 204 and be guided thereby. These vertical rods 204 are secured to brackets 205 which are fastened to the frame of the machine. A connecting rod 206 is pivotally connected to the cross head at its lower end and to an arm 207 at its upper end. This arm 207 is adapted to oscillate about a bushing 208 which surrounds a shaft 209 which constitutes the drive shaft of the pinion 200, being keyed thereto as indicated at 242. A pawl 210 is secured upon the outer end of the pivot pin connecting the rod 206 with the arm 207 and is held in contact with the teeth of the ratchet 211 by a spring or other suitable means. The ratchet 211 is coaxial with the drive shaft 209 and pinion 200, and is removably secured to the driving memher 212 of a cone clutch by means of a plurality of bolts 213. The clutch member 212 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 209 by means of a bushing 214. The driven member of the cone clutch 215 is keyed to the shaft 209 as indicated at 217 and is normally held in spaced relation from member 212 by means of a spring 216. A cam 218 which is integral with the hand lever 220 normally abuts an annular dished plate 231 which in turn abuts the outer face of the clutch member 215. The cam and hand lever are .pivotally mounted with respect tothe shaft 209 by means of a pin 219. Upon rotation of the handle 220, the cam 218 will force the plate 231 and the clutch member 215 against the tension of the spring 216 into coaction with the clutch member 212. The shaft 209 is provided with acollar 221 intermediate its ends which abuts the bushing 208 and arm 207 on one side and the'bushing 214 and a shouldered portion on the inner periphery of the driving member 212 of the cone clutch, on the other.

This clutch arrangement is important with respect to the preliminary adjustment of the machine. When the wheel is first placed upon the table 18, the clutch members are disengaged; consequently, the table may be rotated to any desired degree in order to align the first spoke nipple or set of nipples to be operated upon with their respective operating tools. After this preliminary adjustment has been effected, the lever 220 is rotated to effect coaction between the clutch members 215 and 212, and drive degree of the successive rotary movements imparted to the pinion 200. The inner radial face of the ratchet 211 is provided with a plurality of annularly arranged openings 223 equally spaced about the face thereof. 'A locking pin 224 is adapted to intermittently enter these openings successively to lock the ratchet in place between successive indexing operations. This locking pin is secured to a locking plate 225 which is slidably mounted between a pair of opposite flanges 227 and 228 as indicated in Figure 7 by means of pins 226 mounted between the flanges and is normally urged into locking position with respect to the ratchet by means of a pair of coil springs 229 which surround the pins and abut the flange 227 and the inner face of the locking plate 225, respectively. A pin 230 is secured to the outer face of the locking plate 225 and is provided with a bevelled surface 240 on its end opposite the ratchet for a purpose to be later described. The arm 207 is provided upon its upper end beyond its pivotal connection with the shaft 209, with an enlargement 232 provided with an opening 233 in its forward face adapted to slidably receive a dog 234. This dog is held in place in the opening 233 by means of a screw 236 which extends across a portion of the opening and coacts With a shoulder 237 on the inner end of the dog to limit the outward movement thereof. The dog is normally urged outwardly by means of a spring 235 which abuts the inner ends of the dog and the end of the opening 233, respectively.

The dog is provided with an enlarged head on its outer 'end which is adapted to coact with the pin 230 on the locking plate 225 to effect a reciprocation of this locking plate and a consequent reciprocation of the pin 224 to periodically releasethe pin from. locking engagement with the ratchet 211. To this end, the dog is provided upon its outer end with a curved face 238. The curved face 238 of the dog and the bevelled portion 240 on the outer end of the pin 230 are relatively arranged in such a manner that the straight outer face 243 of the dog engages the bevelled portion 240 upon the clockwise rotation of the pawl together with the arm 207, andthe curved face 238 of the dog engages the main body 244 of the pin on counter-clockwise rotation of the ratchet. A plurality of shrouds 241 are secured to the periphery of the cone clutch member 212 and extend over a plurality of the ratchet teeth 211. These shrouds may be adjustably mounted on the periphery of the cone clutch in any suitable manner and correspond in number to the openings 233 in the face of the ratchet.

In the operation of this portion of the machine, when air is flrst admitted to the cylinder 201, it effects an upward movement of the piston rod 202 together with the connecting rod 206 and a clockwise rotation of the arm 207 and the pawl 210 with respect to the ratchet teeth, as viewed in Figures 5 and 8. During the first part of this rotation, the pawl 210 will ride upon the outer face of one of the shrouds 241 and thus have no tendency to rotate the ratchet. The arm 207 rotating in clockwise direction will carry the face 243 of the dog 234 into contact with the bevelled face 240 of the pin 230. This will in turn force the pin 230 inwardly toward the center of the machine and thus carry the lock- T ing plate 225 with its locking pin 224 inwardly out of coaction with the opening 223 of the ratchet with which it previously had coacted.

Before the dog 238 has rotated beyond its coacting position with respect to this pin, the pawl 210 will ride beyond the shroud 241 which has heretofore prevented its coaction with the ratchet teeth and thus initiate the rotation of the ratchet. The dog 238 will, of course, con tinue to rotate with the arm 207 and will shortly thereafter ride beyond the edge of the pin 240. The springs 229 will then again tend to force the plate 225 and the pin 224 outwardly, but before this tendency occurs, the ratchet 211 will have been rotated through a slight angle and the opening 223 with which the pin 224 has previously coacted, will accordingly have been removed from registery therewith. The pin 224 will thus slide upon the face of the ratchet during the further rotation thereof.

It should be borne in mind at this point, that springs 229 constantly tend to force plate 225 and pin 224 toward the ratchet face. When the pawl has rotated the ratchet through an angle corresponding to the distance between the successive openings 223 in the radial face thereof, a second opening 223 will register with the locking pin and the spring pressure will im- -mediately force the pin to enter this new opening.

The pressure of the air which is admitted to the cylinder 201 is held within suitable limits so as to to avoid the breakage of any parts by reason of its further tendency to rotate the ratchet after the pin 224 enters any given registering opening. The entry of the pin within one of the openings 223 thus causes the fluid pressure motor to stall.

When air is released from the cylinder 201 to cause the pawl to be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the curved face 239 on the head 238 of the dog will abut the main body 244 of the pin 230. At this point, the spring 233 will yield to allow the dog to move inwardly by reason of the coaction between the curved face 239 of the dog and the main body of the pin. The dog thus yields inwardly during the rotation in a counter-clockwise direction to allow the pawl to return to its initial position.

When it is desired to adjust the machine for operation upon a different type of wheel having a different angular relationship of the spokes,

the degree of indexing movement of the table may be adjusted to correspond to the arrangement of any wheel by merely substituting a new ratchet having a greater or smaller number of openings therein for registery with pin 224 in place of the ratchet previously used and to change the arrangement of shroudscorrespondingly. In the design of this portion of the machine, it is exceedingly important to arrange the shrouds 241 with respect to the ratchet teeth in such a manner that the pawl 210 will begin to coact with the ratchet teeth only after the dog .238 has coacted with the pin 230 to draw the The control mechanism The power system through which the machine is operated will next be described. The main line through which compressed air is admitted to the machine is indicated at 400. This branches at 401, 402, and 403 into three conduits which control the various operating mechanisms, the compressed air for the reciprocating and rotating motors which eifects the fastening of the spokes being fed through pipe 403, the airfor controlling the motor 62 for raising the clamping head into its elevated position being fed through the pipe 402 and the air for controlling the cylinders 81 and 201 for effecting the clamping and indexing movements respectively being fed through pipe 404.

The compressed air for controlling the reciprocating and rotating motors 300 passes through a reducing valve 405 which controls the air pressure in this portion of the system. This is very important as it constitutes an arrangement whereby the tension in the spokes may be very delicately adjusted. All that is necessary in order to effect a tension of any desired degree is to adjust the reducing valve to the desired pressure before initiating the operation of the machine.

After passing through the reducing valve, the compressed air in this pipe passes through a three-way valve 406 which is controlled by a chain 407. The pipe line 403 branches below the valve 406 and a valve 408 is provided within each of the branch conduits at a point to which the operatorhas easy access. 409 and 409' constitute a pair of conduits leading from these two pipes to the respective reciprocating and rotating motors, each of these conduits feeding two oppositely arranged motors through the flexible conduits 310.

The conduit 404 for feeding air into motors 201 and 81 extends downwardly toward the base of the machine and then at right angles through an opening in the base where it leads into two branch conduits 411 and 421 controlling the operation of the cylinders 81 and 201, respectively. A valve 412 is provided in the conduit 411 for controlling admission of air to the cylinder 81. A three-way valve 413 is provided in the conduit 421 and this valve is controlled by means of a link 414 pivotally connected at its upper end at 418 to a trip lever 415 which is provided on its rear end with a bevelled face adapted to coact with a pin 416 on the bracket 31'? of one of the reciprocating motors 300. The trip lever 3 415 is pivoted to the frame of the machine at 417. The forward end of the lever 415 is provided with the downwardly offset portion 419 adapted to be secured to a tension spring 420 which is secured at its opposite end to a portion 35 of the machine framework and normally holds the lever 415 and link 414 in a position wherein the valve 413 shuts off the compressed air and connects the lower end of the cylinder 201 to reciprocation of the motors 300, the motors admitting the air to the cylinder 201 by their actuation of the trip 415 when they move rearwardly and releasing the air from these cylinders by allowing the spring 420 to actuate the valve 413 upon the inward reciprocation of the motors. The motor 62 is controlled by a valve 94 in the conduit 402. In the operation of the machine the operator first adjusts the reducing valve 405 to the desired pressure and then admits air to the cylinder 62 by manipulation of the valve 94 to raise the clamping head into its upper position. He next places the wheel upon the supporting table, as shown in Figure 2. His

next step is to actuate the valve 94 to controllably lower the clamping head 46. After the clamping head 46 has been lowered into contact with the wheel and the sectors 78 have collapsed about the neck 84, air is admitted to the lower cylinder 81 through valve 412 to effect a final clamping and centering operation of the wheel by the lowering of the head 85 and the actuation of the clamping sectors 25.

At this point of the operation the clutch 214, 215 is released and the wheel and table are rotated to align the first spoke to be operated upon with its operating tool. The clutch is next engaged and air is admitted to the reciprocating and rotating fluid motors to effect the forward reciprocation of the same and a rotary movement to tension the first spokes operated upon, this operation being performed upon oppositely located spokes simultaneously.

After the first set of spokes is tensioned the air is released from the motors 300 and these motors move rearwardly under the compressive force of the spring 307. In their rearward rotation they actuate the trip lever 415 to open the valve 413 to admit air to the cylinder 201 and thus effect an indexing movement of the table and wheel into a position in which the next set of spokes is arranged opposite the operating tools.

After the indexing motor has stalled, air is again admitted to the motors 300 to reciprocate them forwardly and the lever 415 rises upon the forward reciprocation of these motors to allow the air in the cylinder 201 to exhaust to permit the pawl 210 to move in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the ratchet 211 as viewed in Figure 8. This operation is repeated until the tools 300 have acted on every spoke location of the wheel.

After the entire wheel has been tensioned the valve 412 is actuated to release the pressure in the cylinder 81 and allow the piston rod to rise, thus releasing the clamping pressure upon the wheel. Air is next admitted to the cylinder 62 through the valve 94 and conduit 402 to raise the clamps away from the table in order that the wheel may be removed. A new wheel is now substituted and the operation is repeated.

If the operator desires to tension all of the spokes at the same time he retains the valves 408 permanently open and actuates the valve 406 by means of chain 407. This valve controls the admission of air to all of the cylinders .300 and thus effects the simultaneous tensioning at all four spoke locations illustrated.

If, on the other hand, the operator desires to use but two of the operating tools at the same time, he retains the valve 406 permanently open and actuates whichever of the valves 408 he desires in order to operate two of the tools at the same time, one of the valves 408 being retained in closed position. Whether he operates two of the tools or all four of them simultaneously depends, of course, upon the particular spoke arrangement of the wheel which is being operated upon.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that we have attained the objects of our invention by providing a machine which is simple and economical in design and operation, ad-

justable within wide limits, and at the same time, effectively tension every spoke in the wheel to an equal degree which may be accurately predetermined.

Modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art and we do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the particular arrangement illustrated. For example, either the clamping, indexing or spoke fastening mechanism may be varied without destroying the general principles of operation of our machine or the spirit of our invention. We also contemplate that the ma,- chine might be redesigned for mechanical instead of pneumatic control.

These and other modifications are intended to be included within the scope of our sub-joined claims, and we do not therefore wish to be limited except by an interpretation of these claims broadly in the light of the generic spirit of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. The method of truing a vehicle wheel consisting of a hub member, a rim member, and a series of spokes and nipples therefor interconnecting said hub and rim members, which comprises simultaneously tightening a plurality of the spokes by rotating the nipples thereof, said spokes being individually tightened by means of fluid pressure from a common source.

2. The method of truing a vehicle wheel consisting of a hub member, a rim member, and a series of spokes and nipples therefor interconnecting said hub and rim members, which comprises simultaneously tightening a symmetrically arranged plurality of the spokes by rotating the nipples thereof, said spokes being individually tightened by means of fluid pressure from a common source.

3. The method of truing a vehicle wheel consisting of a hub member, a rim member, and a series of spokes interconnecting said hub and. rim members, which comprises successively simultaneously tensioning a symmetrically arranged plurality of said spokes and automatically indexing the wheel between succesive tensioning operations.

4. The method of truing a vehicle wheel consisting of a hub member, a rim member, and spokes interconnecting said hub and rim members, which comprises simultaneously tensioning a plurality of said spokes symmetrically arranged about the axis of the wheel, then automatically indexing the wheel and thereafter simultaneously tensioning a second plurality of said spokes.

5. A machine of the class described comprising means for clamping a wheel consisting of a hub member and a rim member interconnected by spokes, a plurality of rotary fluid pressure operated tools for effecting a tightening of a plurality of said spokes individually, and fluid pressure means for simultaneously moving said tools into operative engagement with the work.

6. A machine of the class described comprising means for clamping a wheel consisting of hub and rim members interconnected by spokes, a plurality of rotary fluid pressure operated tools for tightening a plurality of said spokes simultaneously, and a common source of fluid pressure for said tool.

7. A jig for a wheel which includes a hub member provided with spaced bolt holes and a rim, said jig including a member constituting a support for said hub and rim and a clamping member adapted to coact with said support member in securing the wheel in place, one of said members being provided with a plurality of tapered studs adapted to enter said bolt hole openings, said clamping member being additionally provided with a plurality of pivoted arms to engage said rim.

8. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and a rim member, said jig including a support for the rim member, a reciprocable clamping head, and a plurality of pivoted arms associated with said clamping head and adapted to engage a portion of the rim upon said support, said arms having a limited lost motion with respect to the head.

9. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and a rim member, said jig including a support for the rim member, a reciprocable clamping head, and a plurality of arms secured to said head in movable relation thereto, said arms being adapted to engage a portion of the rim upon saidsupport and having a limited lost motion with respect to the head.

10. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and a rim member, said jig including a support for the rim member, a reciprocable clamping head and a plurality of arms secured to said head and adapted to engage a portion of the rim upon said support, said arms being collapsible by gravity to release the rim upon themovement of the clamping head away from clamping position.

11. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and arim member, said jig including a support for the rim member, a reciprocable clamping head, and a plurality of arms secured to said clamping head by a connection afiording a limited free pivotal movement between said arms and said head, whereby said arms position and clamp the rim upon one reciprocatory movement of the head and release the same upon the reverse reciprocation thereof.

12. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and a rim member, said jig including a support for the rim member, a reciprocable clampand a rim member, said jig including means for supporting said hub and rim members, a reciprocable clamping head associated therewith and means secured to said clamping head for securing both the hub and rim members on said support.

14. A jig for a wheel including a hub member and a rim member, said jig including means for supporting said hub and rim members, a reciprocable clamping head associated therewith and means secured to said clamping head for relatively positioning and securing the hub and rim members on said sup-port.

15. A jig for a vehicle wheel including separate hub and rim members comprising means for supporting the hub and rim in spaced relationship, means for positioning the hub and a plurality of radially movable arms adapted to abut the inner periphery of the rim and position the same concentrically with respect to the hub,

said arms actuated by said hub positioning means.

16. A jig for a vehicle wheel including separate hub and rim members comprising means for supporting the hub and rim in spaced reiationship, means for positioning the hub and a plurality of radially movable wedges adapted to abut the inner periphery of the rim and position the same concentrically with respect to the rim, said wedges being actuable by said hub positioning means and yieldingly urged away from said rim.

17. A jig for a vehicle wheel including spaced hub and rim members, said jig comprising a support for the rim, a yielding support for the hub, a clamping head, and means associated with said clamping head, for concentrically positioning the hub and rim and axially positioning the hub relatively to the rim.

18. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting a hub and rim in assembled relationship, a reciprocatory head carrying means for clamping said hub and rim in their assembled positions on said support, means for moving said head into position adjacent the support and a second means for moving the head into position to clamp the work on said support.

19. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting a hub and rim in assembled relationship, a reciprocatory head carrying means for clamping said hub and rim in their assembled positions on said support, means for moving said head into position adjacent the support and yielding means for moving the head into position to clamp the work on said support.

20. In a machine of the class described comprising means for clamping a vehicle wheel, a tool for operating on said wheel, means for indexing the wheel between successive operations thereon, and pneumatic means for efiecting the operation of said clamping, operating and indexing means, the indexing means being controlled from said tool operating means.

21. The method of truing a vehicle wheel having a hub member, a rim member, and a series of spokes and nipples interconnecting said hub and rim members which comprises uniformly tightening said spokes by simultaneously engaging and rotating the nipples of said spokes with a plurality of rotary pneumatic tools, and introducing fluid pressure from a common source to each of said pneumatic tools.

22. The method of truing a vehicle wheel having a hub member, a rim member and a series of spokes interconnecting said hub and rim members which comprises simultaneously tensioning a plurality of spokes spaced symmetrically about the axis of the wheel and subsequently tensioning a second plurality of spokes also symmetrically spaced about the axis of the wheel.

23. The method of truing a vehicle wheel having a hub member, a rim member and a series of spokes interconnecting said hub and rim members which comprises tensioning a plurality of spokes spaced symmetrically about the axis of the wheel, indexing the wheel and subsequently simultaneously tensioning a second plurality of spokes also spaced symmetrically about the axis of the wheel.

24. The method or" truing a vehicle wheel having a hub member, a rim member and a plurality of series of spokes interconnecting said hub and rim member which comprises simultaneously tightening a group of spokes symmetrically spaced about the axis of the wheel,

said group comprising one spoke of each of said spoke series, and subsequently simultaneously tightening a second group of symmetrically disposed spokes, each spoke of said second group also comprising one spoke of each spoke series.

25. The method of truing a vehicle wheel having a hub member, a rim member and a plurality of series of spokes interconnecting said hub and rim member which comprises simultaneously tightening a group of spokes symmetrically arranged about the axis of the wheel, said group comprising one spoke of each of said spoke series, indexing said wheel and simultaneously tightening a second series of spokes also symmetrically arranged about the axis of the wheel, said second group also composed of one spoke from each of said spoke series.

26. A machine for truing vehicle wheels having hub and rim members interconnected by a plurality of series of spokes, comprising means for clamping a wheel, spoke fastening mechanism comprising tools spaced about the axis of the wheel mounted exteriorly of the periphery thereof and adapted to operate thereon, and fluid pressure means for giving said tools a combined rotary and reciprocating movement.

2'7. A machine for truing vehicle wheels having hub and rim members interconnecting by a plurality of series of spokes comprising means for clamping a wheel, spoke fastening means comprising a plurality of tools symmetrically spaced about the axis of the wheel mounted exteriorly of the periphery thereof, one of said tools lying in the plane of each series of spokes, and fluid pressure means for giving said tools a combined rotary and reciprocating movement.

28. A machine of the class described comprising means for clamping a vehicle wheel consisting of hub and rim members interconnected by spokes tensioned by threaded connections, and means for simultaneously tightening by equalized fluid pressure a plurality of said spokes while the wheel is so held.

29. A machine of the class described comprising means for clamping a vehicle wheel consisting of hub and rim members interconnected by spokes tensioned by threaded connections, and plural means symmetrically arranged about the axis of the wheel for simultaneously tightening by equalized fluid pressure a plurality of said spokes while the wheel is so held.

WARREN H. FARR. CAROLUS L. EKSERGIAN. OBED E. SMITH. 

